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My background and experience on which I base my conclusions:
- I have grown gardens nearly every year since we moved to southwest Idaho in 1988, in five different yards from Boise to Eagle to Marsing.
- I have planted and grown grapes in four of those places.
- I have successfully started multiple grapevines from cuttings at least four different years.
- I have some cuttings currently showing signs of life in their pots.
- I have had failures with getting cuttings to root.
- I have read various advice from people who say they know things about starting cuttings.
I have always been intrigued that the first planting mentioned after Noah got off of the ark was a vineyard. The narrative suggests that Noah had brought either seeds or cuttings on the ark, because the planting was intentional. He began to be a farmer.
First and second grapevines planted
The first and second time I planted grapevines that were from store-bought pots. They grew in our suburban backyard lawns. We were at the first location for about four years. The plants grew well, but then we moved. We only lived in the second location about three years.
Third grapevines planted
I knew next to nothing about grapevine cuttings, but a friend told me I could just stick them in a pot and they would root. She brought me some cuttings, I stuck them in pots and they did grow. More specifically, I planted them in plastic gallon pots, such as plants come in when you buy them at the garden nursery. For soil, I used basic packaged potting soil that I was then using to start seedlings. I believe the two keys to my success were:
- I saw them often and checked them for water needs.
- They were in the morning sun and the afternoon shade.
Within a few weeks I had leafy vines that easily transplanted to a sunny spot and grew for the 25 years that we lived in the house. For part of that time, they were in the chicken yard, so most of the grapes were chicken snacks.
It was these rather untamed grapevines, probably also Concord grapes, that I observed having rooted from various branches that were touching the ground.
Fourth yard, four different scenarios
First try
That brings us to my current home. I shopped for grapevines and the prices motivated me to ask for cuttings from a friend. However, this was in the early fall and all I remembered was that grapevines were easy to root and that you should get a cutting from a growing tip of the vine. I was in the middle of trying to make grape juice from all the grapes I had just picked, so I stuck the vines in mason jars of water, set them in a sunny window of my greenhouse and hoped for the best.
The best did not happen. I threw those branches away and started to do some reading.
Second try
The consensus was that grapevines are easy to start. Some people said you could get 80-90% growth without rooting hormone, but 100% with rooting hormone. I decided to go ahead and try some rooting hormone, which I purchased from Amazon: rooting hormone.
Now I was ready for the following spring. When it was time, my son brought me two types of cuttings from his in-law’s grapes. These were Reliance and Thompson. The day I got them, I dipped them in the rooting hormone and stuck them in pots with soil (my homemade mix this time). I kept them in my greenhouse for warmth and therefore hopefully faster growth.
The three Reliance cuttings had plump, green buds, but the three Thompson cuttings already had leaves fully opened, though obviously very new. The Reliance cuttings survived and leafed out.
Reliance grapevine
The Thompson cuttings did not root. Their leaves died, and no other growth proceeded. I kept tending them for at least three weeks after the leaves died. Then I pulled them up to look for roots. There were none and the stick was dead.
Once the Reliance began to leaf out, I began harden the plants off on my back patio. Unfortunately, our two year old half-lab-half-German-wirehair-retriever, thought I was putting sticks out for her to play with. She snapped the top off of one and brought it to me excitedly to play with her. Sigh. I immediately found a higher location for my two surviving grapevines.
A couple-few weeks later, I was able to plant them directly in their permanent location. I have modular fence panels I got from Home Depot (not an affiliate link) that I placed in a square around each, which was enough to deter the energetic puppy. The plants have already leaved out this spring, having now gone through their first full year since cutting.
Third try
That same spring that I attempted the Reliance and Thompson cuttings, another friend got to talking to me about my grapes and offered some of his vines. I wasn’t expecting much, since it seemed a bit late by then. Still, I was willing to give it a shot. He graciously brought me three pots with Manukka grapevine cuttings and three with Flame grapevine cuttings. They were all already leafed out, but the Manukka were especially from growing tips, the vine itself still being green. The Flame cuttings were from growing tips, but not quite as green.
The soil in the pots was basically straight clay. With the weather warming up, I was fairly sure that keeping them watered was going to be impossible, so I just transplanted them right away. Two of the Manukka and one of the Flame seemed to do okay for a few weeks, but in the end only one of the Manukka cuttings survived through the summer. I am happy to say that it also survived the winter and is growing again this spring!
Fourth try
That still only left me with three grapevines, so I asked my friend for other cuttings earlier this year. I received:
- 3 Manukka
- 3 Flame
- 3 Interlaken
All cuttings showed up with various stages of buds somewhere along the brown stick, but no leaves yet. The cuttings were what would be expected from a vine that had already been pruned, so cut on both ends, where I could also see the inside was green and thus showing signs of life. (see first photo at top of article)
Again, I immediately dipped them in rooting hormone and stuck them in my soil mix, making sure the buds were growing in the up-position. That was almost three weeks ago. The Interlaken are just beginning to leaf out. The other cuttings have green buds that still look hopeful. Since I know that grapevines are not all on the same schedule, this is to be expected. One Flame cutting did break in half when I accidentally brushed it with my arm a few days ago, so that is the one I am least hopeful about.
My conclusions
- cuttings are likely to survive and grow if cut when just beginning to bud, but not yet leafed out
- the exception to this might be a very green, growing tip
- planting directly in soil seems very reliable, but type of soil is important for watering and encouraging root growth
- I am not convinced that rooting hormone gives better results, but it is not very expensive, so I will probably use it in any future attempts, at least until I run out
- not all cuttings are budding at the same time, so optimum cutting time varies
- cuttings might work for direct planting if kept appropriately watered and protected
I am running out of places to plant grapes, so unless we do some major landscaping on a back hill, this may be the last of my attempts to start grapes from cuttings for a while.
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